Editorial Branding Checklist: 21 Places Your Words Really Matter On Substack
And how to think creatively about them without burning or bumming out
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Roll up your sleeves, dear writers. If you’re on Substack and hoping to find readers to gather around your writing, then there’s work to be done!
This post is for writers in a season of tending—that means your craft is honed and you’re ready to actively bring your writing into the world.
Today I’m working as your hands-on editor, equipping you to think creatively about how readers perceive your writing outside the essays you write.
OK, take a deep breath. The list is long.
There are 21 places on Substack that have a direct impact on how readers experience you as a writer and your newsletter. They each take time, intention and discernment. They take some experimentation. And they each need to be tried on like a new coat to make sure they fit right.
By giving each element below the time and creativity it deserves, you’ll be offering the weary, fatigued (not to mention busy) online reader a place to rest and soak in the goodness of your essay writing. There will be a polish, a seamlessness and a joy in the reader experience you create.
At the end of this piece, I’ll share a link to a Google Doc Checklist that you can copy/paste and use to keep track of your editorial work in your own time.
So here we go!
Your writer bio*
Your @ Substack handle*
Publication name
Short (publication) description
About page
Email address for RSS feeds
Welcome email to paid subscribers
Welcome email to free subscribers
Welcome email to founding subscribers
Free subscriber benefits (1 line)
Paid subscriber benefits (3 lines)
Founding member benefits (1 line)
Subscription renewal email
“Subscription expired” email
Email sender name
Email banner, header, and footer settings
Email opt-out page
Publication introduction
Opt out message on the welcome page
Upsell email to engaged subscribers
Referral gift grant email
Let’s dive in, one-by-one, through the list
*Except for the first two asterisked items—writer bio and writer @ Substack handle—everything can be edited by clicking into the writer dashboard and then clicking on Settings. I’ve also listed everything in the order they show up on the Settings page, so it should be easy to navigate to the next thing on the list. You can always use ctrl+F or command+F to find the piece you want to edit on the Settings page.
Your writer bio*
One to two sentences long. This should include descriptors of who you are, not just adjectives. I like to make use of the vertical bar in writer bios to differentiate between “who you are” and “what you do” information. The vertical bar looks like this: |
Your @ Substack handle*